DavidsonCats- Davidson Wildcat fan.
MocsMania- Chattanooga Mocs fan.
TheSportsArsenal- The Ciatdel Bulldogs fan.
UNCGBasketballFan- UNC-Greensboro Spartans fan.
SCHEDULE
Monday, January 2
Chattanooga at Tennessee (SportSouth/ESPN3)
Wofford at Wake Forest (Fox SportSouth/ESPN3)
Virginia Wise at The Citadel
Brewton Parker at Georgia Southern
UNCG at Miami, FL (Fox SportSouth/ESPN3)
Thursday, January 5
The Citadel at Furman
Georgia Southern at Elon
Davidson at UNCG
College of Charleston at Wofford (ESPN3)
Western Carolina at Chattanooga
Appalachian State at Samford
Saturday, January 7
College of Charleston at Furman
Georgia Southern at Davidson (SoCon Sports Network/ESPN3)
Wofford at Western Carolina
Appalachian State at Chattanooga
Samford at The Citadel
POWER RANKINGS
1) Davidson 48 (4)
2) College of Charleston 44
3) Elon 39
4) Western Carolina 36
5) Wofford 33
6t) Appalachian State 24
6t) Chattanooga 24
8) Furman 21
9) Georgia Southern 19
10) UNC-Greensboro 9
11) Samford 8
12) The Citadel 7
QUESTIONS
Sum up your team.
DavidsonCats- The Wildcats enter 2012 at 8-4 and 2-0 in the conference. In the next 9 weeks we have 16 conference games and the Bracket Buster game. There is plenty of room for improvement, but most of the fans are very pleased with the results so far. Home attendance has been good and there is good enthusiasm in the fan base for some of the upcoming road games. We've seen some really inconsistent performances from some players (like Jake following a 0 point UNCW game with 26 at Wofford, De'Mon following 24 against Vandy with 3 at Charlotte, and Chris following 0 at UMass with 23 against Penn). Some of that is linked to foul trouble. Some of it avoids explanation. Free throw shooting has been a pleasant surprise for the team so far, with the team shooting right at 80% for the year. It has been a fun season so far and holds lots of promise.
MocsMania- The Mocs finally got their act together this week. They dominated Longwood and Utah Valley to win the Dr Pepper Classic. Sure, those are not great teams, but the Mocs dominating performances really showed a lot. They now lead the league in margin of victory per game, although their easier schedule plays a role in that. The Mocs are starting to look like a team that has a chance to get things done in the SoCon. The next four games are huge for the Mocs, with Western Carolina, Appalachian State, and Wofford all at home, while a trip to Tennessee comes first.
TheSportsArsenal- The Citadel lost badly to Tennessee this week, despite 21 points and 8 rebounds from Mike Groselle. The Bulldogs continue to struggle, although against the Vols the offensive side of the court wasn't much better. Next up for The Citadel is UVA-Wise, an NAIA school. The Bulldogs need to win that matchup before resuming the SoCon schedule with a game at Furman and a home contest against Samford.
UNCGBasketballFan- Just one Spartan game this past week. The team played at a tough Richmond team and again played a solid 30+ minutes. However, in what is really turning into the story of the season, UNCG went through another late game swoon and lost by 20. The schedule doesn't really get any better for UNCG as they have a quick turnaround and play at Miami tonight and then host Davidson on Thursday. Trevis Simpson is really making a solid push to be all conference. Unfortunately, he really needs some scoring help.
What game are you looking forward to this week that your team is not involved in?
DavidsonCats- I want to see how GSU does against Elon. GSU is historically terrible on the road and they play at Davidson just two days after playing the Phoenix.
MocsMania- College of Charleston at Wofford. If the Terriers are going to contend in the South race this year, they need to come up with a win over the Cougars at home. If they do that, they can absolutely contend in the South. Not sure if they are quite ready to do that. The Cougars have been a little up and down too. They need to come out and show why they are the co-favorites to win the South with a solid road performance against the reigning champs.
TheSportsArsenal- College of Charleston-Wofford is probably the most interesting league matchup next week. It will be interesting to see how the Cougars respond to losing at home to George Mason.
What do you think the standings in the SoCon North will be at the end of the year?
DavidsonCats- I expect Samford to finish 6th, UNCG 5th, WCU 4th, Chattanooga 3rd, Elon 2nd, and ASU 1st. I really like Elon, but I don't think they'll win the division this year. Maybe next year. ASU and Chattanooga have too much talent to keep performing so poorly. I like WCU's guards, but they are weak in the middle. If their freshman big guy becomes eligible, they could finish higher. I was pretty high on UNCG before the season. They took 2 of 3 from the Wildcats last year and only lost 1 guy. I thought they'd be pretty good. They have talent. I don't see much hope for Samford this year.
MocsMania- The North is anybody's guess. Samford is likely the worst team, and not quite ready to contend for anything higher than fifth in the division. UNC-Greensboro is a potential team to contend in the North, but the Spartans have struggled so far. They look like the fifth best team to me. The other four appear to be toss-ups. Elon appears to be the favorite, though they have been coming back to the pack as of late. The second bye should go to Western Carolina. The Catamounts have been showing the most signs of getting it together at this point. The Mocs are a very close third. They have played two road games so far, both of them difficult trips, including their only battle against College of Charleston this year. If they get rolling this week, they will be a contender until the end for a bye in the North. That leaves Appalachian State for fourth. They are not far off from a bye. They could certainly get it.
TheSportsArsenal- I have absolutely no idea what the North standings will look like. Chattanooga was the preseason choice to finish first in the division but has not played up to expectations. I believe that the Mocs, Elon, Western Carolina, and Appalachian State could each conceivably win the division. Samford and UNC-Greensboro will try to avoid the cellar. Elon has had the best results out of league play in the division, so I will give the Phoenix the slight edge over WCU and UTC.
UNCGBasketballFan- The North is alomst a complete crap shoot at this point. I think the bottom 2 teams are pretty solidified. The top 4 could be in any random order.
1. Elon
2. Chattanooga
3. Western Carolina
4. App State
5. UNCG
6. Samford
What do you think the standings in the SoCon South will be at the end of the year?
DavidsonCats- I expect Citadel to finish 6th, GSU 5th, Furman 4th, Wofford 3rd, Davidson 2nd, and CofC 1st. Citadel may improve in the next two months, but they have a long way to go. GSU has talented players, but I don't see them surpassing Furman or Wofford. Furman and Wofford have been pleasant surprises, but I don't see them taking down Davidson or CofC. The top spots are a toss-up. Both teams have some outstanding players and have played some excellent basketball so far. Both have also turned in some poor performances. Charleston's guard play has been better than most people anticipated and Antwaine Wiggins has really stepped up in his senior season. I watched CofC's game against George Mason. Baru is developing rapidly. He'll be nasty by March. Davidson has gotten solid play from the veterans and some solid contributions from young guys like Chris Czerapowicz, Tyler Kalinoski, and De'Mon Brooks.
MocsMania- It seems clear at the top and at the bottom. Davidson and College of Charleston will fight it out for the first spot. Call it a gut pick, but I'm going with the Cougars as the favorite. The last place team is The Citadel. No one else could finish behind them, I don't think. The other three teams are all very even. I like Furman the least of the other three teams. The Paladins just don't have the offensive explosion necessary to finish higher than fifth. That leaves Georgia Southern and Wofford fighting for third. I'm going with the Terriers. They have been better than anyone thought they would be and will edge out Furman and Georgia Southern for third.
TheSportsArsenal- In the South things are more clear-cut. Davidson and the College of Charleston are the league's two best teams. The Wildcats are balanced and well-coached, and I think will win the South. Wofford is my pick to finish third, ahead of Georgia Southern, Furman, and The Citadel. Although the Bulldogs have struggled, I would not be that surprised if either GSU or Furman finishes behind them in the standings.
UNCGBasketballFan- This one is a lot easier to predict. The top 2 and bottom team seems a lock.
1. Davidson
2. Charleston
3. Wofford
4. Ga Southern
5. Furman
6. Citadel
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